政府有補助請看護嗎？2026 長照補助完整指南：能拿多少、怎麼申請、哪些不給付 Does Taiwan Subsidize Hiring a Caregiver? The 2026 Long-Term Care Subsidy, Explained Honestly
常有家屬在 LINE 上問我：「政府不是有補助請看護嗎？」答案是：有，而且金額不小，但不是大家想的那種。長照給付每月最高可達 36,180 元，買到的是照服員「到府服務的時數」，不是一位 24 小時住在家裡的看護。很多家庭根本不知道有這筆錢；知道的，又常以為它能養一個全日看護，期待落空。這篇把資格、金額、流程和限制一次說清楚。
誰可以申請？怎麼申請？
資格看兩件事：身分與失能程度。65 歲以上失能長者、55 歲以上失能原住民、失智症患者（2026 年起取消 50 歲年齡門檻）、領有身心障礙證明者，經評估失能等級（CMS）達第 2 級以上即可使用。申請只有三步：撥打 1966 長照專線（住院中可直接請出院準備服務轉介）；照管專員到府評估、判定 CMS 等級；個管師與你討論照顧計畫，核定額度後開始用服務。全程不用先準備一堆文件，先打電話就對了。
能拿多少？自付多少？
「照顧及專業服務」依等級每月給付：第 2 級 10,020 元、第 3 級 15,460 元、第 4 級 18,580 元、第 5 級 24,100 元、第 6 級 28,070 元、第 7 級 32,090 元、第 8 級 36,180 元。自付比例：一般戶 16%、中低收入戶 5%、低收入戶 0%。另外還有交通接送、輔具與居家無障礙改善（每 3 年 4 萬元）兩筆獨立額度，長照 3.0 並自 2026 年 7 月起新增智慧輔具租賃補助。
重點來了：這筆錢實際買到什麼？額度不是現金，而是按服務項目（BA 碼）逐項扣抵。以常見的一趟居家服務為例：協助沐浴及洗頭 325 元、餐食照顧 310 元、基本身體清潔 260 元——一趟約 1.5 至 2 小時、將近 900 元。就算最重度的第 8 級把 36,180 元全部用完，大約等於每天一趟、兩小時上下的到府服務，一般戶每月自付約 5,800 元。它能實實在在減輕負擔，但補不滿一天 24 小時。
喘息服務與其他補助
家庭照顧者另有一筆喘息額度：第 2–6 級每年最高 32,340 元、第 7–8 級 48,510 元，可用居家喘息或機構喘息。聘有外籍看護的家庭也適用——自 2020 年 12 月起，失能第 2 級以上者，看護休假或請假即可申請，不再受 30 天空窗期限制；長照 3.0 上路後，外籍看護家庭也開放使用日間照顧等部分服務。若長輩入住住宿式機構，另有每年最高 12 萬元的補助方案，依身分與入住天數規定辦理，金額以最新公告為準。
誠實說：補助不給付哪些？缺口怎麼補？
三個最常讓家屬措手不及的限制：第一，沒有 24 小時看護這個選項，給付邏輯是時數，換不成住家或全日人力。第二，不含醫療照護——抽痰、鼻胃管、傷口換藥屬護理行為，照服員依法不能做，自費護理師（特別護士）的費用也完全不在給付內。第三，人力要排隊，都會區熱門時段常常核了額度卻排不到人，要有等待期的心理準備。
最聰明的組合：24 小時外籍看護 ＋ 白班特別護士
如果家人長期臥床、有管路或慢性病，最划算又最安全的安排，往往不是「外籍看護或護理師二選一」，而是把兩者疊起來用。一位 24 小時的外籍家庭看護工（家屬自費，月薪約 23,500 元、另加食宿與規費；長照 3.0 上路後，這類家庭也能申請喘息與日間照顧等政府服務）負責全天候的生活照顧——餵食、盥洗、翻身、陪伴，以及凌晨三點有人在。但有一層工作，依法看護不能碰：抽痰、鼻胃管灌食、傷口換藥、給藥，以及病況變化的判斷。
這一層，正好交給一位「白班特別護士」補上。白天是治療、換藥、回診、與醫師溝通、大部分臨床判斷發生的時段，由有執照的護理師在 12 小時白班內負責醫療照護、觀察併發症，並從旁指導與監督外籍看護。算一筆帳：外籍看護（月約 23,500 元不含食宿）＋ Alma 白班護理師（每日 6,000 元），等於同時擁有「24 小時不間斷的陪伴」與「合法的醫療專業」——比只靠看護安全得多，也比請兩班護理師全日（每月約 378,000 元）省得多。恢復期或病況較重時可天天排白班，狀況穩定後再降為一週幾天、只處理醫療項目。
無論最後怎麼組合，有一件事要說清楚：Alma 是自費服務，不在長照給付範圍內。但若家人有管路、傷口或夜間病況變化，這正是補助蓋不到、卻最不能將就的部分。白班、夜班或 24 小時照護都可彈性安排，服務台北、新北、台中、高雄。LINE @205tyguj 或 hello@caredbyalma.com 都找得到我們。
常見問題 FAQ
政府補助可以直接拿來請 24 小時看護嗎？
不行。長照給付是按服務時數扣抵的額度，最高第 8 級每月 36,180 元，全部用完約等於每天兩小時左右的居家服務。24 小時照顧需自費聘請，或申請外籍看護。
從打 1966 到開始用服務要多久？
照管專員到府評估、核定計畫、媒合人力，一般需要數週不等。若家人還在住院，出院準備服務可以加速銜接，建議出院前就提出，不要等回家才開始辦。
已經請了外籍看護，還能用長照服務嗎？
可以。失能第 2 級以上，看護休假或請假時即可申請喘息服務；長照 3.0 後也開放日間照顧等部分項目。細節以 1966 與照管專員的說明為準。
外籍看護再搭一位白班護理師，這樣划算嗎？
對許多臥床或有管路的家庭來說，這是最務實的組合。外籍看護負責 24 小時生活照顧（月約 23,500 元、家屬自費且需供食宿），白班特別護士補上看護依法不能做的醫療照護與病況判斷。既有全天候陪伴，又有醫療安全，整體又比請兩班護理師全日便宜許多。
If you live in Hong Kong, Singapore, or the US and your parent in Taiwan suddenly needs care, here is something most overseas families do not know: Taiwan's government runs a substantial long-term care program, and your parent is probably eligible. Here is the honest version of what it pays for — and what it does not — written by a nurse who answers this question weekly.
What the Long-Term Care program is
Taiwan's Long-Term Care 2.0 program (長照 2.0, upgrading to 3.0 through 2026) subsidizes in-home care visits, day care, transport, equipment, and respite care for people assessed as disabled or living with dementia. It is funded by the government and managed by city care-management centers. It is not health insurance, and it is not a cash benefit — it is a monthly budget of subsidized service hours.
Who qualifies, and the one thing overseas families must know
Eligibility covers people 65 and over with functional decline, people with dementia (the age floor is removed from 2026), indigenous people 55 and over, and holders of a disability certificate. The key step is an in-person assessment: a government care manager visits your parent at home (or in hospital) and assigns a disability level from 1 to 8 on the CMS scale. Level 2 or above unlocks the subsidy. This means your parent must be assessed in Taiwan, in person — you cannot complete this from abroad, though a sibling, neighbor, or the hospital discharge planner can host the visit.
How to apply
- Call the 1966 hotline from a Taiwan number (any family member can call on the patient's behalf), or ask the hospital's discharge-planning unit to refer the case before your parent leaves the hospital.
- A care manager visits and assesses the CMS level.
- A case manager builds a care plan, the budget is approved, and services begin with a co-payment.
How much money it is — and what it actually buys
The monthly care-services budget runs from NT$10,020 at level 2 to NT$36,180 at level 8. Most families pay a 16% co-payment; low-to-middle-income households pay 5%, and low-income households pay nothing. On top of that there is a separate respite budget — NT$32,340 per year for levels 2–6, NT$48,510 for levels 7–8 — plus equipment subsidies and, for those in residential facilities, a separate scheme of up to NT$120,000 per year.
Now the part that disappoints people if nobody warns them. The budget is drawn down against itemized services with fixed prices: a bathing assist is NT$325, meal care NT$310, basic hygiene NT$260. A typical visit of 1.5 to 2 hours costs close to NT$900. Even spending the entire level-8 budget of NT$36,180 buys roughly one two-hour home visit per day, with about NT$5,800 a month out of pocket for a standard household. That is genuinely helpful — and nowhere near 24-hour coverage.
The gaps, honestly
The subsidy cannot be converted into a live-in caregiver. It does not cover medical procedures — suctioning, feeding tubes, wound care are nursing acts that care attendants may not legally perform, and private licensed nurses are not reimbursed at all. And in Taipei and other cities there are real waiting lists: an approved budget does not guarantee an available worker for the time slots you want. Most families end up layering several of these — which leads to the setup we most often recommend.
The smartest setup: a 24-hour live-in caregiver plus a day-shift nurse
For a bedridden or tube-dependent parent, the most cost-effective and safest arrangement is usually not choosing between a foreign caregiver and a nurse — it is layering them. A 24-hour live-in foreign caregiver (family-paid, roughly NT$23,500 a month plus room, board and fees; and under Long-Term Care 3.0 these households can now also use government respite and day care) covers continuous daily living — feeding, bathing, repositioning, company, and simply being there at 3 a.m. But there is one layer the law keeps out of a caregiver's hands: suctioning, feeding-tube care, wound dressing, medication, and judging a change in condition.
That layer is exactly what a 12-hour day-shift licensed nurse adds on top. Daytime is when treatments, dressing changes, follow-up calls, and most clinical decisions happen, so the nurse manages the medical care, watches for complications, and trains and supervises the caregiver. The math works: a foreign caregiver (about NT$23,500 a month, room and board on top) plus an Alma day shift (NT$6,000 a day) buys both round-the-clock presence and licensed medical competence — far safer than a caregiver alone, and far cheaper than two nurses covering 24 hours (about NT$378,000 a month). Run the nurse daily through a recovery or high-need period, then scale back to a few days a week for the medical tasks once things settle.
However you assemble the pieces, here is how we fit in. We send licensed registered nurses to the home or hospital bedside — day shift NT$6,000, night NT$6,600, 24 hours NT$12,600, no agency fees, serving Taipei, New Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung. To be clear: Alma is private and not covered by the government subsidy. Many overseas children use the subsidy for daily attendant visits and book us for the medical or overnight portions. Reach us on LINE @205tyguj or hello@caredbyalma.com — we reply in English.
FAQ
Can I apply for my parent from overseas?
You can start the process — anyone can call 1966 on the patient's behalf, and the hospital can refer a case at discharge. But the assessment itself happens in person in Taiwan, so someone local needs to be present for the home visit.
Does the subsidy pay for a 24-hour or live-in caregiver?
No. It funds hours of attendant visits — at the highest level, roughly two hours a day. Live-in foreign caregivers and private nurses are hired and paid separately by the family.
My parents already employ a foreign live-in caregiver. Is the subsidy still useful?
Yes. Families with a foreign caregiver can use respite services whenever the caregiver takes leave (level 2 and above), and under Long-Term Care 3.0 they can also access day care and other services. Ask the care manager during assessment.
Is any of this paid as cash to the family?
Generally no. The government pays providers directly and the family pays only the co-payment. Figures change with policy updates, so treat 1966 and the city long-term care center as the final word on current amounts.
Is a foreign caregiver plus a day-shift nurse a good combination?
For many bedridden or tube-dependent families it is the most practical setup. The live-in caregiver covers 24-hour daily living (around NT$23,500 a month, family-paid, plus room and board), while a day-shift special nurse adds the medical care and clinical judgment a caregiver may not legally provide. You get both round-the-clock presence and medical safety, for far less than two nurses around the clock.